


Table For One

by Pandoras_box1617



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Cafe AU, F/M, M/M, Multi, Post-it Notes, note passing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 14:33:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13592103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandoras_box1617/pseuds/Pandoras_box1617
Summary: Liam sometimes found himself trying to remember what his job was like before Table Four became the center of gossip with his co-wrokers. And to think it started with an angry, neon green sticky note and a messy table.





	Table For One

‘What do you look like?’

Grimacing as he looks down at the note. His handwriting was bad today, worse than usual, the black ink smudged in places from his palm being is such proximity of the felt pen tip. Liam swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked down at the sticky note, watching as his fingers threaten to close around the paper, crumbling it making the words completely illegible. How he hated to let his nerves get the best of him.

“Would the question cross the line between the two? Would it break the odd pen-pal, note passing relationship?”

Fuck, this is his third would be attempt. Shoving the not into his apron he convinced himself he had the rest of his shift to get his response just right. Growling under his breath, Liam closed his eyes allowing the sounds of clattering silverware, chattering customers, and the swinging kitchen door fill his senses.

As it was nearing the end of the lunch hours service was winding down. Having clocked in barely thirty minutes prior, he was catching the end of the rush, but it was only the calm before the storm. Soon, workers hungry for dinner would swarm, and the café would be busy once more.  
Being a busboy for a popular café was not as bad as one would think. His boss was amazing, the customers were mostly regulars that often engaged in conversations stated they liked his charm and lively attitude. In the beginning is was more of an easy job to help he have extra spending money while at school, not to mention all his friends worked in the same shopping center. It also had the best food and Scott would let him eat however much he wanted after his shift.  
Even so it was not his job that was the dilemma, but more the schedule…

The bundle of unused sticky notes in his pocket feeling a lot heavier than before.

Circling the café again to work off his frustration, picking up plates and waving the patrons farewell as they collected their coats leaving into the now darkening sky. Turning on auto pilot, the note slipping from his mind momentarily, he picked up heavy plates placing them in his tub and dropping them in the dish pit. 

Wringing out one of his clean cloths, he began wiping down the tables. Glancing at the clock he guessed he had about a good forty minutes before the dinner rush. 

He needed a distraction.

“Something bothering you Liam?” A feminine, yet strong voice broke through his nervous thoughts, and despite how long he has worked there, he found himself jumping at the soundless arrival.  
Malia waited for his answer, the only show of her impatience is the quirked eyebrow as he knocked into the bin behind him. ‘Damn it Malia, give a guy a warning.’ Placing a hand to his rapidly beating heart.

Smirking as she leaned on her elbows across the bar. ‘Are you going to answer the question or just comment on your lack of observational skills?’

Liam was never a great liar, but everyone knew that lying to Malia was useless.

Malia, Scott’s fiancé, was preceptive, making sure all the employees were on their toes. The ownership was another wonderful think about working in the café, both Scott and Malia were understanding and looked out for the employees albeit each having their own way. While Scott was more of an understanding older brother, Malia used snark and sarcasm. It really caused the staff to feel more like a mix- matched family.

He groaned, shoulders relaxing in defeat. Scrubbing at a small coffee stain, refusing to look at her smirk. “It’s really knowing. I just have this…….problem.”

He knew Malia already knew what said problem was, fuck who was he kidding, everyone in the café knew. Even his friends from other stores knew about his pen-pal.

Why she wanted to embarrass him farther by making him say it out loud, but that was Malia for you. She cut through all the small talk and got to the core of everything.

“Table four...” was all he allowed himself to say, and to any customer or non-employee his statement wasn’t odd, maybe table four was where big parties sat, or was harder to maneuver around during busier hours. But Malia understood the real issue her smirk pulling into a small, amused smile tugging ever so slightly at the corner of my lips.

‘Ah… did something new happen. I noticed he was here again, he looked stressed and a bit more snippy than usual.” She commented, following Liam to the next table, flushing as he wipes it down. Really how bad is it when one of the owners is gossiping about this whole ordeal. Vaguely remembering Theo telling him he wasn’t one to get much sleep, but Liam wondered what stress and exhaustion looked like on the other boy. Did bags build up under his eyes? Did his clothing become sloppy, too stressed to bother getting dressed? Wait, what kind of clothes did Theo even wear?  
“No, nothing really,” breaking himself out of his spiraling thoughts. “Can’t you guys just tell me what he looks like already?” Pulling his bottom lip at his outburst, but damn, it was frustrating. Plus, he didn’t really have any filter due to his IED, so when things were on his mind he tended to blurt them out.

“Afraid not Liam,” Scott’s smooth tone breaking the conversation, casually walking up to Malia to wrap an arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her temple as he passed her a clipboard. “That would be cheating.” His smirk, which Liam noted looked creepily like Malia’s, told Liam he was having way more fun meddling with his love life than he should be.

Liam found himself eyeing the tabletop, wanting to faceplant, but the chocolate and coffee stains deterring him from acting on impulse of his humiliation.

“Am I correct in saying you haven’t figured out the daily note yet? “Chuckling, Scott watched as Malia took off to the kitchen. The café occupied only by an older couple on the far side of the dining room sharing a piece of cake, and Hayden leaning against the hostess stand the smirk tugging at her lips told Liam she was listening.

Frustrated, Liam pulled out the note. Everyone at the café being overly invested in the odd flirting the two boys have developed since the first day, the first note…  
\--  
A few moths back, Liam entered the café pissed. During his last class, one of the other students decided to be a smartass causing the professor to double the work before the next meeting. Liam’s mind was loaded running through his hours at work and class to find where he could do the extra work, and the last thing he wanted to do was clean up after people. The rush that night had been especially bad, but that wasn’t what set him off.

No, the problem happened way before the dinner hour. Table four. Liam rarely cleaned the section containing the table. In fact, it was his first day switching over after Scott had hired a second busboy for busy nights.

It wasn’t a big deal, or at least that’s what he thought. The customer at able four was long gone by the time Liam arrived, but his mess was still visible, as if mocking Liam, challenging him to pick it up.  
Littered with notes, rings of the half-consumed mug made the papers soggy, plastering itself to the smooth marble top. The paper where crumpled, obviously scratch paper, as if someone had come in to do copious amounts of homework and dashing out with no care in the world. The various boxes, letters, and definitions on the sheets screamed Biology.

Liam had grumbled the whole time he cleaned, swearing at the mushy paper and ink stains that refused to wash off his hands. He knew it was his job to clean up, but what asshole left all this for the staff to deal with?

After clearing the table, his relief was immediate, curing whoever had occupied the table. Hoping they never can back.

But of course, Liam had never been that lucky.  
For the whole week, whenever he clocked in, table for was waiting for him, messier than the previous day. Liam was beginning to think it was a prank, or maybe some dick from one of his classes because of how purposeful it looked.

But no…

"Oh, table four?" Hayden looked up from her list of reservations, preparing for the dinner rush. "It's the same guy every day, he comes in all huffy with his backpack, and won't leave for two hours at least. He doesn't talk much, and only orders coffee."

"He's not the most personable, but he makes my job easy," Stiles voiced, bringing the serving trays out from the back. Stiles was one of his friends, the one who'd gotten him the job in the first place, a waiter who seemed to know a lot of questionable things about the regulars. "He doesn't talk a lot, hell, I don't even know much about him. Only his order."

Now, that was interesting. Stiles could make anyone talk with enough prodding, so this guy must be really focused on is work.

The next day, Liam glared at the table, eye twitching as he noticed more papers, and some leftover pens as well. How uncaring was this guy?

His impulses took over, and he stomped over to Hayden's station, not answering her questioning look as he grabbed the stack of sticky notes she kept there, and trotted back to the table, picking up one of the shitty pens the asshole had left behind.

Looking back, it wasn't his shining moment. Liam had no right to scold a customer, and he could've gotten in a lot of trouble for it, but fuck, he was so pissed.

Angrily, he scribbled his frustrations down, not really thinking.

'Excuse me, but some people have to clean up after you! Who the hell leaves all their homework notes behind???’

Shoving the folded up note in the napkin holder stuffing it into the back, leaving only the edge sticking out.

For a moment, Liam's anger cleared, and he thought maybe he shouldn't be doing this. After all, if anyone looked hard enough, they could find the note, and he'd get in trouble, or the guy he was targeting would report him too. Or maybe, no one would find it, and it'd sit in the holder forever.  
He exhaled suddenly, the tension flooding out of him. Right, this is stupid...

Liam scolded himself, he should know better than allowing himself to act on his anger. It was this type of impulses that caused his to trash his coach’s car. He was in college now, living on his own. He had bills to pay, classes to pass, and rules to follow. He reached slowly, about to tug on the edge of the neon green paper sticking out and discard the note for good. In the end it wouldn’t be wroth it.  
At that exact moment, the door whooshed open, and Liam realized in terror how much time he'd wasted. Forgetting about the note, he rushed to pick up the last of the main room and waited for the dinner rush to begin.  
\--  
The next day was the same as usual, except when Liam walked up to the dreaded table four, there was a note.

A boring one, different from the bright yellow bear and animal shaped ones which Hayden kept. It was square, and a light blue, so simple, yet it froze Liam in his tracks.

Shit.

So that's what he'd forgotten. Liam felt panic and relief all at once. Panic, because man, he seriously prayed no one else had walked by before he'd arrived and seen the note first. Relief, because both bosses had greeted him happily on his way in, meaning that they had no knowledge of the note, and that table four guy hadn't complained.

Liam almost felt guilty. He'd been in a bad mood and had raged at an unsuspecting customer. A sloppy, obviously inconsiderate customer, but still a customer.

He shook it off, approaching the note, so the wording became clearer, and hoped he could move on after reading the guy's apology.

Only it wasn't an apology.

There, scrawled in neat handwriting, all capital letters, were two phrases, ones Liam would never forget, and all sense of guilt or amity flew right out the store doors.

‘Get over it, it’s your job. Fuck you.’

This...

"This asshole!" Liam's grip on the note was fierce, and he threw it roughly into the garbage, seething from deep within his soul.

For the second day, he found himself taking a bundle of neon green duck notes. Admittedly, not the most intimidating, but they would have to do. Writing as fast as he could, his handwriting twelve times sloppier than the previous note. 

Liam jammed the note into the holder, itching for a response.  
\--  
Little did he know that was just the beginning, and now here he was scrubbing a little to hard at a stain. Glancing up at Scott, an unamused expression, his previous comment still on his mind.

“I figured out the sticky note for the day, by the way. I just find it embarrassing.” Glaring at his boss, watching as the other was obviously taking pleasure in his discomfort.

"Hey, you brought this on yourself," Stiles’ voice lingered from the kitchen, and soon after, he stepped out, no longer in his uniform. Stiles was off work, soon to be replaced by another server, and Liam envied him as he began to waltz towards the exit. "You wrote him first. You really suck at flirting, in fact, the both of you do."

Yeah. He couldn't argue with that. It wasn't like Liam had been trying to flirt in the first place though damnit! It had just...happened.

Theo. That was table four guy. Liam learned the name after about a week of their feud. After their first exchange, Theo had made it his mission to mess up his table as much as possible, seemingly fueled by his spite for Liam. Liam had cursed him all along the way, and their correspondence increased rapidly over the next few weeks purely out of shared pettiness.

It started off as expected: insults. Theo was surprisingly witty and clever with his comebacks, which only served to increase Liam's anger with every work day.  
'As if I'd want to fight a cafe worker. Maybe I can't, for all you know I could be some old man who you're harassing.'

'Cut the crap! Your homework has university class headers! You can't be that old!'

'Ah, snooping, are we? And commenting on my stress earlier, you must genuinely care.'

'You better hope I never see your stupid face on the street!'

'Even if you did, it's not like you'd know.'

That conversation haunted Liam more now, considering Theo had been right. They'd been talking through sticky notes for almost two months, Liam knew all sorts of facts about the other, but what Theo looked like was still a mystery, and the worst part was, he was the only one in the dark. All his morning coworkers, his bosses, they all knew.

It's not like it would've mattered, if it hadn't been for the fact that Liam, somewhere in between those exchanged insults, which had then turned into casual questions, and then small talk, had completely developed a crush by accident.

It’s not like he planned it. He had learned a much about the other boy, and in returned shared information about himself. It was stupid, after all, Theo was still a stranger, but…

Smiling to himself, wringing out a new rag, bits and pieces of the conversations run through his head. Every note, each topic, and fact he’s learned about the other, all leading up to the last.  
'Hey, how come you never come eat dinner or anything here? You come every day for lunch.'  
'Do you want me to?'

Liam nearly dropped the utensils he'd been picking up as a flush spread out across his face. Fuck, thank god Theo wasn't actually at Alpha, Liam was mess today…

Liam stared at the singular question, biting his bottom lip, because really, the answer was obvious. Of course, he wanted Theo to come when he was actually working. Liam wanted to see him, talk to him in person, maybe...

Liam shut that train of thought down as fast as he could, and instead shakily wrote out his response.  
'Well...yeah, don't you want to?'

It might've been lame, but what did Liam have to lose? He was pretty sure his feelings were obvious anyways...right? Could those things even come across in such little notes? Sure, sometimes they'd use up two or three for their responses, almost like letters, if the conversation needed it, but was that enough?

Liam tried to reason with himself that if it wasn't obvious, if Theo asked, he'd have to spill his guts. Then...if Theo rejected him, there'd be no real problem, because they didn't know each other and would never have to cross paths.

Liam swallowed thickly at the thought though. No, that wasn't true. He didn't know what Theo looked like, the color of his eyes, the style of his hair, but he knew he liked video games, and hated parties, and he volunteered at the local vet, and he seldom slept well, and a whole bunch of other shit which made him feel close to the other.

Liam snapped back to the present when Stiles continued to talk to him. "You know Liam, you don't exactly have to worry. That guy comes in and the first thing he does is read your note and respond, he does it before he even gets his coffee! That guy practically lives off that shit too..."

Liam's hands tightened around the rag, the water sloshing out over the table he'd been cleaning way too long, and a spike of happiness nearly knocked him into oblivion.

Theo... was excited to talk to him.

"So, yeah," Stiles said breezily, waving goodbye as he headed out the door. "He's into you, so write your damn response and ask him out already!"

Scott chuckled beside him, flipping through the paperwork he held as he shot Liam a knowing look, and headed to the other side of the cafe.

Ask him out...

Part of Liam wondered if it was too soon, if the request would be too sudden, but then there was that knowledge from before. He knew Theo, not fully, but...

He knew Theo was smart. That was the first thing he'd discovered.  
\--  
One day, Liam hauled himself through the cafe doors grumpily, pinning on his name tag and carrying his bin over to table four, same as every day, expecting the usual smart ass note. He'd gotten one of course, a response to his last, and a bit longer than usual, taking up almost the whole sticky note.  
'I don't do my homework here because I want to, it's just quieter, but you sound obnoxious, so maybe you just don't know anything about that concept. I like getting my homework done all at once, it's a pain if I wait.'

Liam glared down at it, pulling out his own pack of notes (which he now kept in his pockets, as one does when engaged in a note war with a rude stranger) in preparation for his reply. Something stopped him that day though. He looked over mid-sentence, seeing a stack of papers which stood out from the usual notes and scribbles Theo tended to leave behind.

They seemed more important somehow, and begrudgingly, Liam scooped them up, intent on putting them in the lost and found. Upon closer inspection, he figured out they had been a few of the other's past exams, Biology from what the headers said, and Theo had scored high.

He'd stared at them for a good two minutes, going over the information on each page, the difficult concepts which Theo's nice writing seemed to answer quickly and efficiently, like an expert, and Liam couldn't help but be impressed.

All previous comebacks and taunts left his mind, and he'd written one question on the small square for the day.

'Hey, you scored almost perfect on your tests! What do you study?? That's so cool!'

It was only later that Liam raced back to the table before closing and added something to the end.  
'For a jerk anyways!'

Theo had ended up being a double major, in psychology and biology, and Liam wondered how he wasn't dead. Theo had seemed shy at first to answer Liam's questions about university life, but after a while, most things were fair game. Theo liked his professors well enough, but he thought his campus was too crowded. Theo got good grades (something he'd only admitted after a lot of prodding on Liam's part), and his Tuesdays and Thursdays were the busiest.

'What about you?'

It was the third week of their correspondence when Theo asked him his first question, and for whatever reason, it made Liam's heart stop for a millisecond, and he'd paused before reading the rest of the note.

'You don't go to school or anything?'

"Ooo, what are you gonna say?" Stiles's voice came up behind him, and Liam all but had a heart attack, jumping back and hitting his hip against the table, all the while Stiles went on as normal. 

‘Yes… I study history at the local college.’

Liam kept his response short, not wanting bore Theo as he writes on and on about the subject.  
The next day, he'd gone to table four, and the rest of his shift, his coworkers were concerned his face was stuck in a permanent grin.

'I must say I’m impressed.’

After that, it had been easy to tell Theo all his stories, all his encounters with mean customers and dumb history jokes. Theo asked him more questions than before, stuff about if he liked working in a restaurant, and if it made him sick of the food.

It was so weird, being able to talk to Theo so naturally. By the end of the first month, Liam knew he just clicked with the other, and damn it, he wasn't going to let that slip by. Though...

Getting the more personal details out of Theo, it had been more of a challenge, but Liam never backed down from those. 

'You must study a lot, when do you have time for fun? Hanging out with friends and stuff.'  
'Most of the people I talk to are classmates, so I see them often. I don't dislike them I guess. I only try for two people, Corey and Tracy.'

Liam smirked at that. Theo was so hesitant at admitting things sometimes, Liam could tell from his writing alone. Basically, in Theo speak, he did indeed have friends, and he probably liked them a lot.  
Liam didn't exactly know where to start with the response. He had so many questions. What were Theo's friends like? Did Theo act different around them? Did he have a lot? What did they do together?

There was so much he wanted to know, it was like he was playing catch up. He was jealous of people who already knew Theo, who got to be around him all the time…

Eventually, Liam calmed down, and figured the topic of friends would be a long conversation and was better saved for later. Besides, what he wanted to know most of all...

'You don't have anything else you like to do? I play video games when I get home! I also like action movies n stuff. Do u? What are your faves??'

Liam was excited to know. Minute details, big details, whatever Theo would offer. It was after that reply that he'd begun to start day dreaming. Maybe he and Theo could go see movies together, if they liked the same kinds. Or maybe Theo could come to his apartment and they could play video games, Theo would probably be good at the strategy ones...

He'd bolted into the cafe the next day, hardly remembering to shrug on his apron as he walked briskly to the table which he’d come to hate less and less each day.

His heart raced when he realized he'd been left five notes, small paragraphs, and he wanted to jump for joy.

'I guess, I like those things too.'

It was shortly after, in between the movie analyses and talking about their game collections, that Liam knew he liked Theo more than just a friend.  
\--  
Liam found he was looking forward to each new note, no mater how brief. He grew excited, thinking about the Biology notes with the little doodles and messages about how to beat certain bosses in the games they both owned. He felt so desperate as he felt a jolt of happiness at picking up Theo’s warm coffee mug, the warm serving as a reminder that yes, the other was real. Liam would practically run from his last class to the café, thinking if he can fast enough he’d catch a glimpse of Theo before he left.

No such luck thus far.

Finishing with the last table, the first party showered up signaling the beginning of the dinner rush telling Liam it was now or never.

Knowing he didn’t have the confidence to ask the other out just yet, plus part of him was telling him that was a conversation he wanted to have in person.

“Welcome to The Den, how many this evening?” Hayden’s level voice carrying through the café, altering the staff to prepare, and jumpstarting Liam’s decision. He still had one question he wanted answered from the other boy.

Gently pulling out the most recent note, leaning against the now infamous table.  
'I can't come at dinner time until my semester is over, my classes run late, by the time I'm out, the cafe is closed.'

Liam's breath catches again, as it had the first time he read it, as his eyes drifted to the second half of the note. 'Otherwise, I would.'

It's all the motivation he needed really, as he took out his pen and the dumb stack of duck shaped notes.

'I'm glad you can come at all, I want you to. Btw Theo--'

The crowds start to flood in, and Liam took in a deep breath.

'-what do you look like?'  
\--  
Once at home Liam found himself staring at the ceiling wondering what the fuck compelled him to finally ask the question. 

It was too late though, he had done it. The stupid neon green duck shaped note was shoved in the napkin holder, unable to be retrieved from the closed and locked up café. Theo was going to read it tomorrow, and the though made Liam giddy and nauseated. 

He wanted to know, and just how badly he wanted scared him slightly. His want to put a face to the name, make his daydreams more focused. He had to be handsome, doesn’t matter if it was in the traditional sense or not. Theo would be handsome t Liam, there was not doubt. Liam had theorized before, and it was fun, but nothing would be the truth. Clutching his pillow, a little tighter, his mind drifting off.

‘How do you eat so much?! And stop leaving your crap on the table!’

This time Theo had left a couple of plates of food abandoned that day causing Liam to glare at the offending tabletop. The homework he’d gotten used to, which he begrudgingly admitted that most of his anger about it is gone, but he was always a bit confused about the amount of food Theo seemed to be able to pack away due to his first initial introduction to Theo was ‘living off of coffee.’ 

‘I’m a growing boy, have to keep my energy up. Getting soft on me, all caring and shit? ;) ‘

‘ Oh shut it. You seem to live off coffee and our sweets, shouldn’t a Biology major know better?  
'How sweet of you, but I'm alive, so no need to nag me.'

Smiling fondly at the memories of the past exchanges. Theo was probably well built with strong muscles due to the energy comment, and while Liam hated Biology in school he does remember though muscles need more energy than fats. Then again there was also another annoying detail…  
'I could totally take you! I'm tougher than I look!'

The proclamation had ended up being a mistake.

'Oh? Are you on the smaller side then? How tall are you, Liam?'

A few days after that exchanged, Liam found out just hoe tall Theo was. 

But that was I though, it was all he knows. Theo was tall, probably muscular, and always looked tired (at least that is what his co-workers use to describe him as). Liam had the feeling that he didn’t smile, he smirked as if he knew something you didn’t.

As gone as Liam was, he couldn't help but be annoyed that the only thing Theo knew about his appearance was his height.

\--  
"Um...Liam, aren't you going to read it?"

Malia's voice sounded miles away, but even then, he could hear the light teasing there, and it became a bit clearer as to why she and Scott were perfect partners after all.

"Uh, why?" Liam winced at his own stupid question.

"Well...it's quite obvious you want to," she tried again, tapping her pen against the table's surface. "You've been here quite a while."

She had a point. Liam had been standing in front of table four for way too long, staring at the napkin holder with sweaty palms and a flushed face as the corners of the same, plain blue note stuck out.  
Fuck.

There it was, the excitement pooling in his gut. Would Theo indulge him, would he finally know? Or would he be made fun of or called weird? Would this be the last note he ever--

"Liam, you still have six more tables," Hayden's calm voice called from the hostess stand, and it was enough to snap him out of it. Though they could be a little too perceptive for Liam's comfort, he was thankful for his female co-workers, if only because they helped him get a grip.

Carefully, he reached forward, tugging at the fold of paper. It was only one note, not the usual three or four, so he already felt dread as he unfolded it, the neat words revealing themselves.

All anxiety was replaced with relieved amusement, and Liam didn't know whether to be pissed off or over the moon.

'I don't know. Normal I guess. Why?'

God, if that wasn't such a Theo thing to say.

He started laughing, which must've concerned Malia, because she reached to pluck the note from his hands, reading it in confusion.

"He's an odd one."

Yeah...

When his chuckles finally subsided, Liam felt ready to work, deciding to leave his response for after his shift was over.

He was in a good mood throughout the dinner rush, and actually ended up receiving a few tips from customers who found his presence refreshing when he went out to help with large parties. All the while, Theo's note was on his mind.

Liam couldn't believe he'd expected anything different. Theo, the same sassy Theo he'd been talking to, wouldn't just give him an all-out description of his fashion sense, of his eye color, his face shape. Hell, he probably hadn't even considered it, and it made Liam grin whenever he thought about it.  
What a loser.

Sometime in the midst of his rounds, he dropped off his reply, and this time he couldn't wait for Theo's.

'No! I meant what do you LOOK like? You dumbass. I want to know, don't you?'

The next day, Liam was on cloud nine.

'Of course, don't be dumb.'

\--  
There had been some resistance even after that, Theo was obviously taking too much pleasure in teasing Liam, but after Liam had looked at his own self in the mirror (which had been painfully awkward and so weird to do alone in his own apartment for longer than a few minutes), and told Theo his observations with little embellishment, Liam had gotten what he wanted.

He bit his lip, clocking into work after his break and letting the thoughts flood him.

Theo was tall. built and tall. He had green eyes, and his skin was dark and tan. Theo styled his hair with gel, the brown swoops would otherwise flop in his eyes apparently, which annoyed him greatly. Theo wore a lot of hoodies, black t-shirt and jeans.

With each detail, the blurred image in Liam's head became clearer and clearer, though it was never enough.

The taller's eyes probably stood out brightly against his skin. Theo's hair was probably long enough to thread his hands through it, Liam would probably have to push off his feet a bit to be eye to eye, to kis--

"Liam, table three!"

"R-right!"

Every 'probably' in his head multiplied, but as happy as it made him, he wasn't sated.

I want to see him.

He wanted every 'probably' to become 'actually.'  
\--  
'I want to see you for real now.'

'There's not much to see.'  
...  
'Theo, you’re an ass but I think I really like you.'

'You're obnoxious, but I probably like you too. I can't explain it otherwise, it’s annoying.'

'Explain what?'

'Why I think about you.'

\--  
It was another month of replies later, and it was the last week of university instruction.

The conversations with Theo had gotten more and more intimate, to the point where Liam would wake up with...problems, and he'd get distracted at work more often.

He got made fun of, of course. He was pretty sure Mason had peeked at more than a few notes, and Stiles had shot him knowing glances across the room more times than he could count. Hayden and Malia also felt the need to update him every day now, which he was secretly grateful for.

'He blushed today, I've never seen him do that, what did you tell him?'

'He actually smiled, it was unreal.'

'He cleaned up after himself when he spilled his coffee. He looked pretty determined to keep the table clean.'

Though all the teasing and implications were humiliating, it couldn't stomp out the overall ecstasy he was feeling as the weeks went by, and now...

'My last final is Thursday afternoon.'

The week couldn't go by any slower.

He dropped about five plates over the next few days, bumped into tables one too many times, and Scott had scolded him quite a bit more than usual. He couldn't help it, he was distracted.

Theo was going to come eat dinner on Thursday. Theo was going to be there when Liam was working. Theo was going to meet him.

Rumor spread in the cafe pretty damn quickly, which only served to make Liam twenty times more nervous.

What if Theo changed his mind, or didn't like what he saw? What if they had nothing to talk about in person?

Shit, I'm screwed. Why am I being such a kid about this?

"Liam."

Hayden's light voice made Liam jump, clutching his chest as he turned to see her in the doorway of the break room, calm and maybe a bit put off from the noise.

"Uh...s-sorry. What is it?"

Wordlessly, she closed the distance, pulling out an object from her bag and handing it to him, before turning back and out the door.

Right before she left for good, she turned, an easy grin on her usually impassive face. "He left it for you today."

Liam's eyes widened, flying to the item in his hand, only to see it was the newest game for the console only Theo owned. Liam had the older model, so he was confused at first, to say the least.

There was another note on top however, a smaller one, but it was everything to Liam.

'It's a quick game, maybe on Thursday, you can try it out at my place to see if you want to borrow it.

Something tells me someone as brash as you would need help anyways.'

A shiver ran through him, and Liam stupidly clutched the note in his hand, rushing to the employee room to put it somewhere safe, as if he was imagining it and wanted proof later.

Theo was such a dick, but he had totally invited Liam over, and the Liam’s anxiety quickly spun into anticipation.  
\--  
The last note he left Theo was on Wednesday night.

'I'll see you at dinner you loser.'  
\--  
Thursday's dinner shift was one of the worst in history, and while Liam wasn't one for superstitions aside from the occasional paranormal shit, he was pretty convinced the shift had been littered with bad omens.

First, a spill at table six, which had left his sweater completely covered in some screaming kid's root beer. Liam handled it like a champ, not letting his discomfort show until he'd calmed the boy down with another soda and a replacement coloring set and made his way to the back.

He'd worn one of his nice hoodies, one with less tears and unraveled threads. He may have worked as a busboy, and no doubt his clothes got dirty with each shift and he smelled like dish water, but damn it, if he wasn't going to try and make some kind of impression on the guy he'd been interested in for months!

Sadly, the plan had failed, though he couldn't say the plain white long sleeve he had on under his sweater was that bad. He'd just have to be careful...

That plan had also been flushed straight down the toilet.

One of the newer employees had also managed to let the mop sink in the back overflow, and Liam had been the one to clean it, effectively soaking through his shoes and socks.

The most recent issue, the dreaded Burger Incident (Stiles had already given it a name, ha fucking ha), was still sitting heavy on his shoulders (and on his shirt).

Who knew slipping on a slightly under cooked patty would lead to a near death experience.

Liam sighed heavily as he cleared yet another table, trying his best to keep on a neutral expression as the chaos of the dinner rush continued around him.

Then...there was the biggest disappointment.

It was halfway into the rush, and still no Theo. Liam tried to reason through it as best he could, but he'd never been the particularly patient type.

He's just running late.  
There's still two hours left.  
He wouldn't forget.  
He wants to see me.

But as he looked to the door, where new families and business executives kept coming through, he felt his heart sinking.

"Excuse me."

Maybe he's just...

"Excuse me sir!"

Liam was jolted back to his senses by the sound of a woman from two tables down, and it was obvious her irritated stare was directed at him. Liam straightened immediately, making his way over and letting his customer service persona consume him as best he could. He wasn't a server, but Scott always said it was everyone's job to assist patrons.

With his usual grin and unsuspecting optimism, Liam waited for whatever the woman had to say, trying not to take it too personally when she didn't even face him when she was speaking.

"Yes, if you could, would you find my waiter? He can't even take a proper food order it seems, I asked for seasoned vegetables, not rice, and I wanted this steak well done."

In his head, Liam's alert system goes off immediately, because really, this is how most 'awful customer' situations begin, and he knows he has to diffuse it as quickly as possible.

Since it was table nine, it was most likely Stiles's, and luckily the other could talk his way out of most situations. He was probably ringing someone up...

"Ah, I'm really sorry about that m'am! Let me just find him and take this back to the kitch--"

"How difficult is it really? I was very clear with my order, I expect him to be properly dealt with."

And that's when Liam tenses.

Uh oh.

Hayden's green irises flashed in his direction from where she was seating another party, and they seemed to echo the same realization.

It's one of those. This is bad. Abort mission.

'One of those' usually meant a rather intense customer, someone who complained about little things, and simultaneously put down the staff. They were never fun, and Liam had seen it from afar, but dealing with it himself was terrifying.

"Again, I apologize, I'll take care of it and get you a new meal as soon as possible!"

Please leave it at that. Please leave it at that.

She doesn't.

"My dinner should be free at this point; can I speak to the manager?" The lady is looking at him now, finally, since before she'd only been scowling at the drinks menu as if she was above looking him in the face. Her eyes roamed over him, once, and then once more, slower the second time, until her nose crinkled up in dissatisfaction. It seemed she'd finally noticed.

Liam didn’t really have to guess what she was going to say, he'd often been given snooty looks from customers, it just came with his job. Sometimes, no matter how nice or genuine he was about his hard work, people couldn’t see past the rolled-up sleeves and stains on his apron. But, it never failed to make him sick either way.

"Oh. Yes, I absolutely will need to speak to a manager. What a waste of breath, I doubt a busboy could help me in any--"

"It's odd that someone who's already eaten more than half their meal would have any complaints," a smooth, low voice cut through the air between Liam and the customer, and only then did Liam realize someone was standing next to him. For whatever reason, he felt his entire body shiver, like it had registered something before he had. "You're disturbing the other people here with your nonsense, myself included."

The woman sputtered, overcome with the embarrassment of other people's eyes on her, but Liam didn't care at all about her regrets about making such a fuss, because as soon as he turned to his side, he was practically blindsided.

He was looking at the other man's waist first, because he was holding something out for Liam to take, and the younger man grasped for it dumbly. Menus...

"A server forgot to collect these from my table, so here," he said, and fuck that voice was so smooth. Liam nodded, basically too busy to process the fact that the menus were supposed to stay at the table anyways, and finally looked up into the face he'd been dreaming about for months.

The rest of the conversations around him might as well have been nonexistent, his body on autopilot as he began to move away when Scott came to take over the disturbance. Liam was too blown away, couldn't even make himself turn back to the customer as she muttered out an embarrassed apology, because fuck, he would know those eyes in front of him anywhere.

Green, sharp, threatening to drown him with one step into its depths.

He'd never seen them before, but he knew.

There was no mistaking the intensity of the gaze, the way his face was framed by the messily styled hair, the slightly concealed bags...

Liam knew exactly who it was, would've known him in the largest of crowds or most muddled of spaces.

He had been right, Theo was handsome, but more so than Liam had expected, or knew how to handle. His back hit the far wall by the entrance to the kitchen, distanced a bit from the dining area, struck with the exciting observation that Theo had fucking walked him backwards over to somewhere more private, maybe without noticing too, judging from how those calculating eyes were taking Liam in as well, soaking in every detail, and he could only hope Theo was as pleased as he himself was.

God I probably look and smell like shit...but Theo is...

"Wow..." It slipped out before Liam could stop himself, and he straightened quickly when Theo's eyes snapped up to meet his, and Liam could see the other swallow and fuck I can't do this.

But then the moment in time resumed, and all the sounds of the dining room and laughter flooded back to Liam's ears with one click of Theo's tongue. The taller glared at the ground, avoiding Liam's gaze as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Wow yourself..." Theo muttered shyly, the faintest hint of a blush sweeping across his cheeks, and Liam was pretty sure he was gonna marry this stupid jerk. "I hope that's not all you can say."

Ah yeah, this was definitely Theo. 

"Shut up! You know it's not!"

"Well obviously you can write," Theo replied, his lips upturning in a slight smirk which Liam couldn't help but return. "But who knows?"

"What?" Liam's eyes were challenging now he was sure, and he was grateful that they were pretty much hidden from view, only servers walking by would be able to see how close they were, how Liam was staring between Theo's lips and eyes because he couldn't decide which once was better. "You think I'm an impostor?"

"No," Theo's answer was quick, cutting almost, and the urge to kiss him intensified about twenty times more.

No, it would be too soon...right?

Maybe the whole thing was going too fast, but Theo was so easy to engage with, the words wouldn’t stop, and it didn’t help Liam’s urges. Calm down…

But then he remembered the months of conversations, of exchanging fucking letters essentially, and all the dumb things he knew about the other. Theo's daily routine, the classes he took, how he liked his coffee, his favorite movies and video games, and then suddenly it didn't seem too soon at all.  
"There's no way it's not you," Theo continued, voice lowering as if he was trying to make it as inaudible as possible. "You're better than I pictured."

The 'maybe I should kiss him' in Liam's head instantly became 'I definitely will.'

Liam shakily raised his hands to Theo's shirt collar, because the hell with handshakes, and he flushed furiously, trying not to seem like a total loser as Theo stepped even closer into the touch, lips parting.

Hell...

He seriously hoped no one would come by to watch him tremble like a teenager with his first kiss, but that's what it felt like, and it was exciting and he wanted it more than anything.

"U-uh...w-well I'm gonna--"

"Yeah," Theo cut him off, and they both leaned in, their lips crashing together in a kiss Liam had waited way too long for.

Theo's skin was cold from the outside air, but his breath was hot against Liam's face as they tentatively pulled back every now and again, only to curiously push forward to press their mouths back together. Each peck seemed innocent, closed mouthed and experimental, yet there was nothing slow about the kisses. They were hungry, quick, light smacking being created as a result, and Liam felt like he could fly if he tried. Theo smelled like peppermint and coffee with just the slightest edge of hair product thrown in, and Liam breathed in greedily as Theo's hand pulled him closer.

It was only when Liam heard a triumphant 'yes!' being yelled from the kitchen, followed by an 'ow,' did Liam break away in embarrassment.

His face was impossibly red, but he still managed to throw open the kitchen door to glare at Stiles, who was holding his side from where Malia had jabbed him. Right, Liam had forgotten about the small window in the kitchen’s door. He hadn’t even thought Stiles would consider peeping through it either. The older man had no sense of shame though, simply throwing Liam a thumbs up before the door shut again.

Liam needed to pay more attention to his surroundings. He groaned, hiding his face in his hands while Theo took a few steps away.

He'd gotten carried away, but considering how great of a fucking kiss that had been, he couldn't regret it too much.

"U-um...we should uh...maybe..." Liam stuttered uselessly, eyes meeting Theo's again and rendering speech more impossible than before.

Fuck it.

He thrust his hand out awkwardly, nearly jabbing Theo in the stomach with the action, and watched as the taller stared at the outstretched hand in confusion.

"Liam, nice to finally meet you."

It was stupid, since they'd just fucking kissed, and had learned each other's names months ago, but it was the best Liam could do.

The silence between them was starting to get to him though, his hand beginning to shake as he awkwardly kept it in front of him, and he was torn between laughing it off as a joke or simply jumping off the nearest cliff.

But then there was a smooth hand slipping into his, grasping firmly in what was probably the most unnecessary handshake ever, and Liam sighed with obvious relief. Theo's hand was cold, and Liam tightened his grip, eager to change that.

"Really? Fine. Theo."

Yeah, it sounds so much better in person.

Liam grinned brightly, and as Theo returned it, he knew nothing would ruin the moment. He doubted he'd ever forget it either.

"I work for a few more hours, can you wait?" Liam hoped the offer to go home with Theo still stood, his body practically vibrating in excitement.

Theo smirked in full this time, and yeah, Liam was gone.

"Table for one?"

**Author's Note:**

> So I am officially in love with Thiam, this being my second work with this couple. Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for plots or something you would like to read with these two.


End file.
